8/03/2016

We're starting to learn more about the upcoming fourth season of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, especially in light of the recent casting of Jason O'Mara as the new team director. The question of why the team needs a new one to begin with certainly wasn't answered in last season's finale, which jumped ahead six months and showed Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) back out in the field. But now the new synopsis for next season has arrived and it reveals a little bit of the reason for Coulson's "demotion", while also teasing the arrival of the fiery spirit of vengeance, Ghost Rider.In light of the Sokovia Accords, and with Hydra obliterated, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been legitimatized again and no longer needs to operate in the shadows. Since the world presumes that Coulson is dead, the organization needed a new Director (Jason O’Mara) to be the face of the organization. Coulson finds himself back in the role as an agent and teamed with Mack (Henry Simmons), and together they are tasked with tracking down and confirming the presence of Enhanced people, aka Inhumans. They have been trying to track down and capture Daisy (Chloe Bennet), aka Quake, who has gone rogue in an attempt to atone for sins from the past. But with the world believing that Daisy is a dangerous outlaw who has taken down banks and bridges, the new Director has no qualms about taking her down for good. Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) is tasked with training specialist strike teams, and Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) have taken a big step forward in their relationship. But with Simmons’ new promotion as Special Advisor to the Director in Science and Technology, Fitz, as well as her former team members, finds it hard to confide in or trust her since she’s now the Director’s confidant.Robbie Reyes (Gabriel Luna) will roar into the lives of Agent Coulson and the team as a junkyard mechanic who can turn on a dime into the terrifying Ghost Rider. Will Robbie be a friend or foe to S.H.I.E.L.D. – as well as the world, itself? Meanwhile, Fitz discovers that socially awkward genius and friend Dr. Radcliffe (John Hannah) has started putting the finishing touches on a new, secret invention.

So it's no surprise that Captain America: Civil War's Sokovia Accords, designed to place the Avengers and under superhumans under the purview of the U.N., would be reflected on the show. Agents of SHIELD has done more bending over backwards to accommodate the MCU than any of the film's have ever done in return.

Just reading through this it looks as if some dissension is in the ranks. Fitz may not be able to work with or trust Simmons due to her new advanced position, while Daisy is on the run. It's going to get complicated, that's for sure, and I still can't wait to see how Ghost Rider fits into the picture. Agents of SHIELD returns to ABC on September 20th.